Gittler titanium guitar takes crowdfunding route to production

Back in January, the beautifully minimalist Gittler Guitar made its public debut at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. Little more than a long rod topped by 31 rounded frets with built-in electronics, the all-titanium guitar has now launched on Kickstarter ahead of its first production run in December.

Since we featured the relaunch of the Gittler Guitar in October 2012, the developers have been showing off pre-production models, and fine tuning and tweaking the design to get it ready for release. The instrument is made from pure (Grade 23) 6AL-4V aircraft-grade titanium, is 30.25 inches (77 cm) long and 3 inches wide (7.6 cm), and tips the scales at 3 lb (1.4 kg). It has a 26-inch scale length neck, LED fret markers, custom-designed pickups, Teflon-coated rear-mounted tuners, and an adjustable bridge.

A clear acrylic cover called the Gittler Guard can be attached to the back of the instrument to give it a guitar neck, for a more familiar playing experience.

The original design has been updated to include a wider sweep on the bass/treble cut, additional tuning to the MIDI output to improve tracking, and an internal dipswitch added to toggle between MIDI raw output and filtered output. The integrated balancing arm (bout) geometry has been changed for better balance, and there's a Loxx Ball on both ends. The bout wheel has been increased to 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) in diameter, and larger Hex Screws specified for improved torque on both arm and wheel lock-down.

The Gittler team has also added an internal midrange boost dial, and made changes to EQ curves and active boost specified on the PCB. The electronics box (Breakout Box) now features an audiophile-quality headphone jack, and a locking collet mechanism has been added to the tuners to allow for faster string changing without removing the tuners. The styling has been refreshed, too, with new laser cut graphics on guitar and breakout box.

An online store on the company's website went live in August, and now Gittler Instruments has launched on Kickstarter for the final push to production.

"We decided to try crowdfunding as a way for us to satisfy the growing demand for our bass guitar and EUB," Gittler's president Russ Rubman tells Gizmag. "At the moment we are putting all our R&D money and expending all our budgetary allowances on the guitar in order to bring it to market by the end of this year. Additional funding would help us to shoulder the overtime necessary to bring our CAD prototypes for the bass guitar line into existence more quickly."

Gittler Instruments will place your name on the reservation list for the upcoming electric bass or electric upright bass (EUB) models for a pledge of US$1,000, which will also act as a deposit for one of the first 100 produced. At the time of writing we have no information or specs on the bass models, other than price tags said to be in the same ball park as the Gittler electric six-string guitars.

The Classic Gittler Guitar has been given a special price of $3,995 for Kickstarter backers. A pledge of $2,000 will serve as a deposit, with the balance due prior to delivery. The funding campaign runs until November 14.

Rubman told us that if the Kickstarter adventure fails to attract enough backers, availability of the Gittler Guitar is still planned for the end of the year, at a cost of $4,995 each. The pace of development for the bass models, however, will likely suffer.

"We will continue to work off our own capital while looking for additional investment potential in other directions," he says. "It is a slower process but, ultimately, just as effective."

Have a look at the demonstration of the instrument in the video below, which was recorded at the Winter NAMM.

While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before the desire for sunnier climes saw him wave a fond farewell to his native Blighty in favor of Bordeaux, France. He's now a dedicated newshound pursuing the latest bleeding edge tech for Gizmag. All articles by Paul Ridden

The latest, over-priced guitar gimmick. After playing music professionally for over 20 years, I can't think of one serious musician who'd use one of these on a regular basis. Maybe they'd demo it on one song,on a lark, for the visuals it offers.

Dan Parker 24th October, 2013 @ 09:46 am PDT

"All add-on boxes and bodies to the guitars are an abomination to the original design – a result of my producers’ misguided attempt to make a radical design immediately “user-friendly;” initially, mastering a musical instrument has never been a user-friendly affair."